Read our Roulette History page to learn everything there is to know about the History of American Roulette and European Roulette Games

Today online roulette is one of the most popular online casino games to play on the internet but the history of roulette goes way back to the 17th Century.

The precise origins and history of the roulette casino game are not entirely clear but there are many theories about where roulette came from.

The most credible of the theories are one, that the roulette game originated from China and was brought over to Europe by monks who were trading there. The second theory is that the famous French mathematician Pascal came up with the game of roulette all on his own in the 1600s.

There are 2 different versions of the roulette game played today, American roulette and European roulette and each roulette game has it's own history.

The version of the roulette game that has one "0" on the roulette wheel is known as European roulette. Two men from France, Francois and Lois Blanc, are credited with inventing the game in 1842. The pair wanted to make a version of casino roulette that was easier to win but at the time gambling was still forbidden in France so the new roulette game was introduced in Germany where it became an instant hit.

Legend has it that Francois and his son Camille took their roulette game back to France as a gift for Charles III, the Prince of Monaco and from that roulette game, the world famous gambling destination of Monte Carlo was created.

American roulette history dates back to the early 19th Century when they were still playing the first ever French version of roulette which is played on a double "0" roulette wheel. This roulette game spread quickly across the states and by the time it had reached the west coast a few changes to the game were made.

The first change made was that the roulette wheel was now put on a table top to stop both gamblers and the owners of the roulette wheels from cheating by using hidden devices. The other major change to the roulette game was the simplification of the table layout. This new hybrid roulette casino game was dubbed American roulette and the name has stuck ever since.

In Monte Carlo European Roulette is still popular but around the rest of the world it's the easier to play American Roulette game that's played most widely in casinos.